Militants attack storage tanks near Libya's Ras Lanuf oil terminal

Fire
rises from an oil tank in the port of Es Sider, in Ras Lanuf,
Libya, January 6, 2016. Firefighters have extinguished two fires
at oil storage tanks at Libya's Ras Lanuf terminal, but blazes
continue at five tanks in the nearby port of Es Sider after
attacks this week by Islamic State militants.Reuters

BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - Suspected Islamic State militants
attacked oil installations close to Libya's Ras Lanuf terminal on
Thursday, an engineer at the port and energy officials said, and
the group threatened more attacks.

The engineer said two storage tanks from the Harouge Oil
Operations company had been set on fire near Ras Lanuf, where
militants also launched attacks earlier this month.

Islamic State fighter Abu Abdelrahman al-Liby said in a video
posted on the group's official Telegram channel: "Today Es Sider
port and Ras Lanuf and tomorrow the port of Brega and after the
ports of Tobruk, Es Serir, Jallo, and al-Kufra."

The state-run National Oil Corporation (NOC) said the area was
facing an "environmental catastrophe", with huge columns of smoke
covering the area and damage to power lines supplying residential
and industrial districts.

An energy official allied with Libya's eastern-based government,
Mohamed al-Manfi, said a pipeline leading from the Amal oil field
to the Es Sider terminal had been targeted. There were clashes
between militants and Petroleum Facilities Guards, but Manfi and
a guards source later said these had stopped and the militants
had retreated.

Libya has become deeply divided since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi
in 2011, with political and armed factions competing for power
and for the country's oil wealth. Since the summer of 2014 it has
two rival governments and parliaments, operating from the capital
Tripoli and from the east.

Reuters

Islamic State militants have taken advantage of the security
vacuum to establish a foothold in the city of Sirte, which lies
about 200 km (125 miles) along the coast to the west of Ras Lanuf
and Es Sider.

Oil production disrupted

The terminals, Libya's largest, have been closed since December
2014. The country's oil production is less than a quarter of its
2011 high of 1.6 million barrels per day.

Clashes between Petroleum Facilities Guards and Islamic State
militants two weeks ago near Es Sider and Ras Lanuf left seven
oil storage tanks damaged by fire and at least 18 guards dead.

The NOC sent a tanker to remove oil from the terminals in an
effort to prevent further damage, but guards prevented it from
loading, citing security concerns.

The NOC said on Thursday the "intransigence" of the guards had
prevented it from avoiding further damage caused by the latest
attack.